due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. >> msnbc takes you behind the walls of america's most notorious prisons to has world into a world of chaos and danger. now the scenes you've never seen. "lockup, raw." most of the violent inmates that fill up our prisons across america have had a difficult childhood. they've either been born on the wrong side of the tracks, or they've had abusive uncaring families. but we found an inmate inside the penitentiary of new mexico

who grew up with all of life's advantages and yet still became a violent predator. >> i come from a nice family. a good family compared to a lot of the families i hear about in here. my dad's a retired naval officer. he retired from the navy, then joined the national guard, retired from the national guard and then started going to the county for the job. he retired as the county jail administrator. my mom, she's a secretary. she's very educated, very knowledgeable about things. she quit her job to stay home with me so that i would have someone there for when i got home from school. do my homework, make sure i do what i had to do. >> but that didn't keep him out of trouble. >> i never had to face consequences, so i guess i figured i was pretty much untouchable, and i rebelled against them being so straight, and i went crooked, bad. >> steele's rebellion culminated in a 60-year sentence for residential burglaries, armed robbery and false imprisonment. >> i was robbing a house, boom, someone came home, i laid in wait or whatever.

they came in the garage door, i told them to shut up, sit on the couch. i finished robbing the house and left, and that was it. >> we had numerous off-camera conversations, but everything switched when it became an on-camera interview. there's a convict code that many of these guys have to live by. and part of that code is to not reveal too much information. the most challenging part of interviewing alejandro steele was when i started asking him about his most visible crime. >> that crime occurred while steele was serving his original sentence and got him an additional 23 years. it was an assault that he carried out literally in front of a jury of his peers. >> i saw basically the whites of his eyes and i saw him coming at me. i didn't see his hands, but he moved relatively quickly on me and i feel -- i feel a punch in my chest. >> in 2001 steele was in court acting as his own attorney for allegedly throwing urine on a correctional officer.

during a lunch break, steele extracted a plastic shank from his anal cavity. when he returned to the courtroom, he attacked chief deputy district attorney a.j. salazar. >> i remember i was wearing a white shirt, my tie was off to the side, and i looked and there was a hole in my shirt and i was bleeding. i was at the emergency room. it took several blood tests and i remember picking up the blood result and i looked for hiv, hepatitis, negative, hiv, negative. so i was like, well, all right. i'll go ahead and take that. >> we asked steele for his version of the story, and in spite of all the witnesses, he claimed absolute innocence. >> they claim i stabbed him in front of the court and jury and acted as executioner. >> what are you saying? >> i'm saying i had nothing to do with it. >> were you there? >> nope. >> really?

>> how many different ways you want me to answer that same question? >> so you're denying this whole thing ever took place? >> i'm denying i had anything to do with it. >> was this d.a. stabbed? >> according to court documents and papers. >> what was the evidence against you? >> oh -- that i was in the courtroom. that eyewitnesses from the jury, the transport officers, my own lawyer, and the witnesses in the case all pointed the finger at me and said i did it. >> and you're saying? >> i had nothing to do with it. >> where were you? >> i was in my cell. >> all right. alejandro, how on earth do you really say that? how? in all honesty, you're a smart guy. how do you really do that? you physically know where you were. everybody saw where you were, right? >> no. i had nothing to do with it. >> what do you admit here?

>> i admit to being prison number 508507, and i admit to my mistakes i made to come to prison. >> steele was convicted of attempted murder in the assault on salazar. he was also found guilty of the charge that brought him to court that day, throwing urine on a correctional officer, and it wasn't the first time he had assaulted an officer. >> allegedly they say i've slipped my cuffs. and when they opened my door, i just started swinging, and i made the c.o. jump off the tier and run out of the pod. left me on my chair all by myself. i went back to my cell, and that was that. >> why assault on staff? >> about 90% of the staff they get working here are the people who got picked on in school. they think that badge gives them power. that power can be stripped and taken away in a moment's notice.

>> and you help them see? >> no. allegedly. >> yes, alejandro was playing a cat-and-mouse game, absolutely. part of it it could have been the convict code not to reveal too much information, and part of it could very well have been the fact that he was kind of delighted to be out of his cell, and able to have this exchange and kind of get people going. >> but eventually steele came clean about the attack on the d.a. >> couple months before -- a month before, i knew he was the one that was going to get got. when they told the jury all rise, i saw that that was my opportunity and i stabbed him in the chest. coming up -- >> when i got incarcerated i declared war on the state of indiana. they gave me this excessive sentence as a result of my crime? i'm giving you excessive violence as a result of my anger. so i decided to just rage.

i wasn't expected to be on msnbc with this camcorder in my hand in a night cell doing night vision recording and talking to you guys, man. i wasn't expecting any of that. but that's how life is. life is full of surprises. life is full of change, abrupt changes. you know, unexpected changes. >> unexpected changes would come to describe our relationship with darren bailey, an inmate we met at the indiana state prison. he was one of a handful of inmates allowed to use a personal camera supplied by our crew used to record intimate

thoughts in the privacy of his cell. he even shared some thoughts about the crew themselves. >> you got susan, you got alex in wonderland, and all those other guys, man. i don't know their names, right, but they're cool. man, these dudes, they're super. and they're all from california, man. can you believe that? >> when we first started working with darren bailey, we had heard that he had this very violent past. that he was not only violent on the streets, but once he got into prison, had a very erratic and impulsive and violent nature. so when we encountered him, he was already in a process of going through therapy and trying to make himself a better inmate. >> i have never given myself a chance, and because i'm giving myself a chance to do better for myself, i have a supporting cast that are saying, yeah. we believe in you. yeah. he's showing progress. yeah. he's no longer the person that has held him hostage for years. >> but when it came to talking about the convictions that earned him a 147-year prison

terms which include two murders, battery, and criminal confinement, bailey was only open to a point. >> man, it was kind of gruesome, man. bodies all found and everything like that. so -- for this area, man, it's not really easy to talk through. we're not having a typical conversation now. now we're dealing with something more personal, and it touches me in different ways, because the people that were getting executed, you know, it's not something that i really deal with anymore. as much as i try to move on, i am still haunted by that past. >> darren bailey was an inmate i remained constantly vigilant around. his moods would shift instantaneously during a conversation. he could go from sweet, even flirtatious to rage-filled and defensive in a heartbeat. was there a personal relationship? >> not nothing like that. it was just that a situation i'm

not -- i can't just give you all this, man. you're not under the gun like i am. this is an interview to you, it's not an interview to me. i have to be meticulous in my thought process of what i expose about my case because my case is still under scrutiny. >> that's fine. >> you keep saying that's fine -- that's fine. that's just what the state said. i'm just curious. there's not a jury in the world who is going to -- so i'm curious what the state said. >> the state said the reason i killed these people because i'm trigger-happy. the state said the reason i killed these people is because i have absolutely no control over my violent behavior. the state said i killed these people, because this is the nature of who i am. >> bailey did nothing to dispel that notion when he arrived in prison. >> when i got in incarcerated, i declared war on the state of indiana. that gave me this excessive sentence, and as a result of my crime, well, i'm giving you

excessive violence as a result of my anger. so i decided to just rage. >> bailey had only recently been released from the indiana segregation unit where he had spent five months for violent acts committed in prison. now he was finding new ways to quell his impulsive behavior, including meditation. >> the truth is, man's greatest challenge is to conquer himself. so i'm working on conquering myself right now. i don't want to deal with the violence, because the violence has been dealing with me for way too long. i sought mental health. mental health didn't come to me. i went to mental health. i told them i would like to be helped. i would like for you guys to talk to me and provide some type of program i can gradually work my way through this step by step. >> after several months of clear conduct, bailey was accepted into the residential treatment unit or rtu, for ongoing counseling. the prison's lead psychologist dr. reggie matias, felt he was capable of doing something few predators are capable of, changing their ways. >> we wanted to try to figure out a different way to do his

time in prison, and so he talked with me when he was up on the segregation unit and he said, you know, i really want a chance at the rtu unit. i want to start making changes in my life. you know, we're pretty particular about who we take in. the bottom line on this unit is that there can be no violence. >> i think this unit is the vehicle that i've been waiting for. i think that i'm ready for it because now that my system is beginning to settle, this will be the best time to capitalize off this moment. >> remember, you're trying to change your past. right? you've been going down a certain road for many years and you're trying to walk a different road. >> right. >> do your time a little differently than you have in the what, last eight or nine years? you're going to be one of our stars. >> that's right. >> i know that. i know that. okay? >> i can come up here and i can get my stuff together. so i won't have to relapse back

into a condition that forbids me from being this free again. there is that form of freedom up here. so i come out here and play basketball by myself, about half hour to an hour as long as it takes me to vent that frustration, vent that rage, you know, just push it all out. >> on his personal inmate camera, bailey also indicated that he enjoyed interacting with our crew. >> susan, she's very, very nice and she's kind of, like, she's cool. cool person to get along with. kind of persistent and relentless, you know. but at the same time, she's a nice person. so she asked me to do this for her. so, you know, you can't say no to a lady, especially a lady like her. >> how would you define yourself? >> cordial, affable, charming, easy to get along with, but there's that side to all of us when we don't want to be bothered, when our tolerance becomes zero.

>> that's the one thing about darren was, one day he would be completely energetic and just all off the wall, you know, all over the place and very hard to contain. and then another day he would be very standoffish, and really wouldn't want to talk much, or would get very upset out of nowhere. so with him, you never knew how you'd have to adjust. >> coming out. come on, it's all right. we've got to talk. >> i don't want to deal with the camera. >> you were fine yesterday. >> well, 24 hours has passed since then. interview the cameraman sometime. >> so you don't want to talk to me? >> i'll talk to you. to hell with that camera. >> what's the problem? you were all right last time. >> yeah, i know it. you know how i get. >> all right. >> darren, as i told you, i said i'm following you today. >> right. >> we're stopping here, going to

other places. >> you told me that. yesterday i'm cool, i'm down with that. okay. but i'm not [ bleep ] with it today. so if it disappoints somebody, i don't know what to say. >> all right. he's just doing his thing. coming up, bailey sends shock waves through the residential treatment unit. >> mother [ bleep ] -- [ bleep ]. ♪ ah, push it. ♪ ♪ push it. ♪ p...push it real good! ♪ ♪ ow! ♪ oooh baby baby...baby baby. if you're salt-n-pepa, you tell people to push it. ♪ push it real good. it's what you do. ♪ ah. push it. if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance,

you switch to geico. it's what you do. ♪ ah. push it. i'm pushing. i'm pushing it real good!

during our extended stay at indiana state prison, darren bailey, an inmate with a violent past, seemed determined to start a new life and asked prison officials for a fresh start in a program designed to help troubled inmates. >> we were pretty much wrapped up with darren bailey's story, you know. he was succeeding in rtu, so we started filming other inmates in other parts of the prison, and then we got word and realized we were far from over with darren. >> bailey had been accused of a brutally violent assault on another inmate.

>> well, what i know is that he sort of sneak attacked this guy and came up behind him and hit him with a mop wringer. apparently he stabbed him with something. he has a puncture wound on his shoulder, and no one's really sure how that happened. he also has a very big bruise on his neck where apparently mr. bailey stomped his head. and he hit the offender with the mop bucket. he fell down and then his head was on the bucket, and then according to the offender, he thinks that mr. bailey stepped on his head while his head was on the bucket. >> we spotted bailey on his way back to the prison segregation unit. >> yo, your unit its ass, man [ bleep ] ain't ran professionally, man. i'm about to change the format up in this [ bleep ], [ bleep ] you. >> a few days later, bailey told

us prison officials had the wrong man. >> the guy got hurt pretty bad, and they figured that because of my history and reputation and my presence there, that i would have to be somehow involved in that. i was never involved in anything. they just snatched me up as a result of my reputation preceding me. >> bailey claimed that he was not only innocent of the assault, but that he actually tried to help the victim. >> first thing i do is say, hey, you guys, this guy is in here lying down on the floor unconscious, he's spitting up blood, his body is shaking, i need to get some paramedics up here. i did that, and as a result, this is the thanks i get? all because of my reputation being, he's this monster when that violence is unleashed. that's not right, man. i didn't do that mess in there. >> our crew later joined dr. mattias during his first meeting with bailey following the assault. >> mr. bailey. >> what's up, man? >> not much. took me about a week to gather my thoughts before i could come back and see you. >> yeah, but you already did

everything else. kicked me out of the program, threw me under the bus. [ bleep ] i'm not going to bother with him anymore. he's a [ bleep ] failure to my program. you kick me out of the [ bleep ] [ bleep ] program. but them other guys -- >> you think i can keep you in the program when you almost killed a guy? >> how is he almost dead? he ain't dead. [ bleep ] up there, they was up there fighting, they didn't get cast away. >> that's the most brutal assault i've seen there in two years. >> so are you saying i did that? >> you and i know that you did it. >> nah, man, you ain't going to put words in my mouth -- what you mean -- >> whatever they do with it, that's up to them. you're not going back on that unit. >> i'm not trying to get back on that unit. my objective is reached. >> that's the thing that really pisses me off and you really [ bleep ] on that. >> what's that? >> because i think you had that planned all along -- >> ain't that a bitch, man, [ bleep ] -- that's all i had planned? how would that benefit me? listen, my reputation precedes me. i'm going to bring [ bleep ] with me.

and give it to them and the gift of life. i didn't do that. i didn't do that. >> we heard off camera from various inmates who were present during the assault what had happened. nobody would go on camera, though, and discuss it because then they'd be labeled a snitch. and i was privy to the photographs of darren's victim. and it probably was the worst assault i'd ever seen. i was shocked that that man lived. >> later, with the personal camera our producer let him use, bailey told a different story. >> things are looking different to me now. i'm no longer on rtu as a result of my excessive behavior, if you want to call it. i dropped the ball. i don't know why i did. i disappointed myself and i disappointed my supporters. i have a lot of people that are in my corner, but because i somewhat relapsed, if you want to call it, they're kind of disappointed with me right now,

and they have every right to be, because these people have been something that no one has given me during the course of my incarceration, which would be a simple chance. >> indiana was the first prison to allow inmates to use these little personal cameras that we left them. and it turned out that the inmates would actually reveal a lot more intimate details using these personal cameras than they would when we were present. and in darren's case, he pretty much admitted to committing this assault. >> susan just popped up, and she wants her property back. see, i told you it was borrowed time, man. so -- so it was nice doing this for susan and company. so i have to return to where i started from, the blackout. so you guys have a nice day. thank you for listening to me. good-bye.

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